How can one, at the moment of death, maintain an unconfused mind and be reborn in the Land of Bliss?

Original text of the Buddha Speaks of Amitābha Sūtra:若有善男子、善女人，闻说阿弥陀佛，执持名号，若一日、若二日、若三日、若四日、若五日、若六日、若七日，一心不乱。其人临命终时，阿弥陀佛与诸圣众，现在其前。是人终时，心不颠倒，即得往生阿弥陀佛极乐国土。

Explanation: If there are good men and good women who hear that Amitābha Buddha is in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) in the West and can receive and guide people to be reborn there, then as long as they recite the name of Amitābha Buddha continuously for one day, or two days, or three days, or four days, or five days, or six days, or seven days—reciting the Buddha's name without interruption during this time and with single-minded concentration without confusion—then at the time of that person's approaching death, Amitābha Buddha together with the multitude of noble beings, such as the great bodhisattvas and arhats of the land of bliss, will appear before this person. If, at the moment this person is about to die, the mind is not inverted and confused, he will immediately follow Amitābha Buddha and the multitude of noble beings to be reborn in the land of bliss.

The first sentence: (reciting the Buddha's name for seven days) with single-minded concentration without confusion, at the time of that person's approaching death, Amitābha Buddha together with the multitude of noble beings appears before him. The latter sentence: at the time of that person's death, if the mind is not inverted and confused, he will immediately be reborn in the land of bliss of Amitābha Buddha. The meanings of these two sentences differ. The first sentence only indicates that at the time of approaching death, the Buddha and the multitude of noble beings appear before the person reciting the Buddha's name, but it does not mean that this person will definitely be reborn there, because the latter sentence adds another condition for rebirth: the mind must not be inverted and confused. The latter sentence supplements the first, indicating that only when the mind is not inverted and confused at the time of approaching death can one be reborn there. The first sentence indicates that Amitābha Buddha and the multitude of noble beings come before the person reciting the Buddha's name, prepared to receive and guide him, but have not yet taken him away; the latter sentence indicates that this person is taken away only when his mind is not inverted and confused. If the mind becomes inverted and confused, he will not be taken away.

Even though Amitābha Buddha and the multitude of noble beings appear before this person, if at the time of approaching death his mind becomes inverted and scattered, the result will be that he is not reborn there. Even if one attains the state of single-minded concentration without confusion in daily recitation practice, this cannot guarantee rebirth at the time of death. If karmic obstructions manifest and the mind becomes scattered, inverted, and confused, one will no longer be in resonance with Amitābha Buddha and the land of bliss, and thus will be unable to reach the land of bliss. Therefore, rebirth in the land of bliss is not something one can accomplish merely by wishing to go. Besides requiring immense merit, one must also eliminate karmic obstructions, and must have a pure great vow, so that the power of the vow is greater than the power of karma, and one must also have a deep mind and a most sincere mind.

Single-minded concentration without confusion is not the same as the mind not being inverted and confused. Foreknowledge of the time of death does not necessarily guarantee rebirth, and even when Amitābha Buddha comes to receive and guide, one is not necessarily taken away. The fundamental factor determining whether one is reborn lies in whether the mind of the person preparing for rebirth is inverted and confused at the time of approaching death. The very last thought at the moment of death is extremely important. Although before this final thought one may have attained single-minded concentration without confusion, with a mind not inverted, if the last thought is not maintained, then there is nothing to be done. It is this very last thought that determines the destination of the next life. As the saying goes, train troops for a thousand days, use them for a single moment—the test of birth and death lies in the very last thought. If one has not previously recited the Buddha's name to the point of single-minded concentration without confusion, the last thought will almost certainly be inverted and involuntary, and karmic power will take charge. However, if at that time the power of the vow is greater than the power of karma, the situation will be different, and the power of the vow will draw one toward the next life.

Single-minded concentration without confusion is primarily meditation/meditative concentration (samādhi) with a small amount of wisdom; the mind not being inverted and confused is primarily wisdom with a small amount of meditation/meditative concentration (samādhi). Only when meditation/meditative concentration (samādhi) and wisdom are both complete and indispensable can one be reborn there. To have the wisdom of a mind that is not inverted and confused, how should one cultivate? That practitioners of the Pure Land find it difficult to attain rebirth is not merely because the practice is hard to cultivate; the main reason is insufficient wisdom. What wisdom is insufficient? It is the wisdom regarding the suffering of the world that is insufficient. Therefore, karmic obstructions have not been eliminated in daily life, and only at the time of approaching death does the mind become inverted and confused. If in daily life one can cultivate the Noble Truth of Suffering, know the suffering of the Sāha world, not crave the world of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), sincerely make the vow to be reborn there, and let go of all conditions, then after attaining single-minded concentration without confusion, one can have hope of rebirth.

Even after attaining single-minded concentration without confusion, the mind can still become inverted and confused. What kind of mental state is inversion and confusion? What kind of mental state is non-inversion? When Amitābha Buddha appears before one to receive and guide, or at the time of approaching death, one should single-mindedly recollect Amitābha Buddha, single-mindedly recollect the land of bliss, and recollect the Buddha's merits and his adornment with major and minor marks (lakṣaṇa-vyañjana-sampad). Only thus can one be in resonance with Amitābha Buddha and the land of bliss—this is non-inversion.

If at this moment one suddenly starts thinking of family members and relatives, thinking of the five desires and six sense objects, thinking of the good things of the Sāha world, and there is even the slightest bit of attachment and reluctance to let go in the mind, then one is no longer single-minded with Amitābha Buddha—one has become somewhat of two or three minds—and this is inversion and confusion. Some people, at the time of approaching death, think: "I am a bodhisattva, and a bodhisattva should deliver sentient beings at every moment. Now I am about to go to the land of bliss—this is precisely a good opportunity to deliver sentient beings. I must let the assembly see well the splendid manner of my rebirth, in order to increase their confidence in rebirth." The moment one thinks this way, the mind becomes scattered, no longer single-minded without confusion; the mind becomes inverted and confused, and rebirth becomes impossible.

To attain rebirth, one must do sufficient practice in daily life and must understand the principles—understand the principle that the world of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) is suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self. After understanding the principles, one eliminates karmic obstructions, knows one's own suffering as well as the suffering of sentient beings, and wishes both to liberate oneself from suffering and to liberate sentient beings from suffering. Only thus can a sincere and most earnest mind arise, and only thus can the bodhisattva's pure great vow be brought forth, so as to be in resonance with Amitābha Buddha and the multitude of noble beings, and in resonance with the land of bliss. Only then, at the time of approaching death, can one avoid inversion and confusion, and thereby be reborn in the land of bliss.